A gallows is a wooden frame used to execute criminals by hanging.
Synonyms: scaffold, gibbet More Synonyms of gallows
gallows in British English
(ˈɡæləʊz)
nounWord forms: plural-lowses or -lows
1.
a wooden structure usually consisting of two upright posts with a crossbeam from which a rope is suspended, used for hanging criminals
2.
any timber structure resembling this, such as (in Australia and New Zealand) a frame for hoisting up the bodies of slaughtered cattle
3. the gallows
Word origin
C13: from Old Norse galgi, replacing Old English gealga; related to Old High German galgo
gallows in American English
(ˈgæloʊz)
nounWord forms: pluralˈgallows or ˈgallowses
1.
an upright frame with a crossbeam and a rope, for hanging condemned persons
2.
any structure like this, used for suspending or supporting
3.
the death sentence by hanging
Word origin
ME galwes, pl. of galwe < OE galga, akin to Ger galgen < IE base *ĝhalgh-, pliant tree branch > Lith žalgà, long, thin pole: the earliest gallows was a pulled-down branch that carried thevictim with it when allowed to spring up
Examples of 'gallows' in a sentence
gallows
That sounds heavy: in fact, this play abounds in mischievous gallows humour.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
For all the gallows humour, I know which one felt like the future.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You have heard of gallows humour?
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Typically in this part of the country the gallows humour wasn't slow in rearing its head.
The Sun (2009)
On his final night out, gallows humour reigned supreme.
The Sun (2015)
It taught me tolerance and survival skills; the value of good headphones and gallows humour.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
In doing that, he was helping to build the gallows from which he would be hanged.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
If found guilty, he faces the gallows.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Tonight he is forced to head into the English countryside to save a man from the gallows.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
They had a deal in common: beauty and a certain gallows humour about the tragedies they shared.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
For if there were such a thing as hanging royalty, here was a man to the gallows born.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
We made the typical jokes about whether we would be there at the same time the next week - gallows humour.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Deadly serious - or gallows humour?
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
What jury would be willing to send a man to the gallows on the evidence of a gob of sweat smeared on a piece of metal?
Colin Beavan FINGERPRINTS: Murder and the Race to Uncover the Science of Identity (2002)
The planets dangle in a line beside the forest track to the observatory, suspended from wooden gallows and wobbling slightly in the wind.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
I like that about football, the gallows humour kicks in.
The Sun (2014)
The city's souvenir T-shirt shops are also thriving on gallows humour.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
It's how players seem to deal with any crisis - gallows humour.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The mayor of a North Dakota tourist town wants to erect a gallows on his front lawn to bring in more visitors.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
All related terms of 'gallows'
gallow
to frighten
the gallows
execution by hanging
gallows bird
a person considered deserving of hanging
gallows humor
amused cynicism by one facing disaster ; morbid or cynical humor
gallows tree
a gallows
gallows humour
sinister and ironic humour
headframe
the structure supporting machinery at the entrance to a mine
(noun)
Definition
a wooden structure consisting of two upright posts with a crossbeam, used for hanging criminals